Li Fengming covered his head and face with a quilt, and he didn't speak loudly, so Xiao Mingche didn't hear what she was muttering clearly.

Xiao Mingche thought that she was uncomfortable because of the burns on her hands, so he also lay down in the quilt, hugged her into his arms, and patted her back like a child to comfort her.

"What did you just say?"

When he lowered his head to ask, his warm breath burned Li Fengming's ear, causing her to shrink for no reason.

She closed her eyes and hid her distraught, and smiled, "It's nothing." I'll talk to you when I'm ready. ”

Things between the two of them seemed to be getting more and more complicated, and she really didn't know where to start for a while, she just felt that her heart was heavy and chaotic.

Xiao Mingche seemed to feel something, and did not press step by step, but only encircled her in his arms steadily.

The two of them had their own concerns and scruples, so neither of them spoke again.

The first long night of reunion after half a year of separation was spent in silence in this warm snuggle.

Li Fengming didn't sleep peacefully this night, half-asleep and half-awake, and a lot of the past came to mind chaotically.

His body was bound by nightmares and he couldn't move, but his mind was clearer than ever.

Some of the demons that they thought they had been open-minded for a long time turned out to be there all along.

Since birth, Li Fengming's status has destined her experience to be different from ordinary people.

Most of the time, everything she gains and loses is just a talking point in the mouths of others, and it is difficult for anyone to truly empathize.

So it's hard to find anyone who can really relate to her bitterness.

Since the great changes that have occurred when I was 17 years old, many people and many things that I have believed in since I was a child have changed.

was originally a proud woman of the sky who was only one step away from the supreme position, and there was nothing left in the morning and night.

Falling from the clouds into the deep pool, there is no way out, and there is no way back.

This kind of torment and torture is no less than ten thousand arrows piercing the heart, but the world is tossing and turning in the red dust and hardship, and few people can live a smooth life and die happily.

Compared with the countless hardships and hatreds that all living beings have to encounter, her pain cannot be seen or touched, and even crying to others seems extremely hypocritical.

In the first year of being claustrophobic in the East Palace, she was sometimes calm and silent, sometimes extremely manic.

Like a fragile madman, he hides two different selves in his body, repeatedly tearing the three souls and seven spirits in different directions.

I don't know why I live, and I don't want to die.

Later, whenever she thought of those days, Li Fengming had to admit that even if nothing changed, she could finally ascend the throne smoothly, at most she was just a mediocre emperor with no merit.

Because Li Fengming in that year was too disappointing.

Confused, frenzied, embarrassed, and misbehaved, there is no calm and calm that a prince of a country should have when encountering trouble.

It took almost a whole year to break free from the demonic barrier, gradually sober up and calm, began to calculate the only chips left in his hand, and began to imagine that he could live another life for the rest of his life.

After that, she even somewhat understood that her parents invariably chose to give up on her after the incident.

probably saw through that she was just an ordinary person in her bones, and she would be easily swayed by emotions when she really encountered something, and she couldn't be ruthless or let go.

With such a temperament, it is really difficult to achieve amazing feats.

She thought that Xiao Mingche would eventually see through this.

She is a person with so many cleverness and some little tricks, which can help Xiao Mingche when he is struggling.

But if he had the opportunity to go further, that little trick would no longer be of any practical use.

It's just an ordinary Li Fengming, and it's easy to be replaced. At the critical moment when you have to weigh the pros and cons, you will give up.

However, she really didn't want to be chosen by anyone again.

In the afternoon of the next day, Li Fengming and Xin Wei hid behind the rockery in the back garden of the Huai Wangfu to read idle books.

She sat on the ground with her back to the rockery, and hung her legs crossed, casually turning the book "The Legend of Myrtle" on her lap to the last page.

Xin Wei squatted beside her, scratching her head in confusion, "Hasn't Your Highness finished reading this book a long time ago?" Why did I find out again today? ”

This book was brought by Xin Wei from the Wei State, and it is just a market script that does not enter the stream.

The book tells the story of a myrtle who has practiced for thousands of years and turns into a human form and falls in love with a down-and-out scholar.

However, the ending of the story is a bit nonsense, and the scholar entered Beijing to rush to the top of the high school exam, and when he faced the saint, everyone found out that he was exactly the same as the old emperor when he was young.

In the end, the old emperor ordered someone to investigate, and learned that the scholar was the prince who was replaced by a baby girl with a bad heart many years ago and thrown out of the palace.

The old emperor planned to pass the throne to him, and let him marry the fake princess who grew up in the palace instead of him.

"I just remembered this myrtle."

Li Fengming tapped the ending paragraph with his fingertips, squinting with a gloating smile.

"Xin Wei, you see, this myrtle has been practicing for thousands of years, so I heard the scholar say, 'Please enter the Jade Mansion Golden House', and his soul was scattered on the spot. What's going on? ”

Xin Wei glanced at her strangely, "Because the scholar decided to marry someone else and ascend the throne, the original match of this goblin transformation has become an obstacle, and he wants to use the Jade Mansion Golden House to seal the myrtle." ”

"She has a thousand years of cultivation, and she noticed that the scholar wanted to coax her into the Jade Mansion and seal it, why didn't she know how to run? Why do you want to stay where you are? Li Fengming discussed with Xin Wei with great interest.

"Because I was abandoned and let down, I was sad to death."

"Then why is she sad? Myrtle cultivates a human body, but she is still a monster, and she has no heart at first. ”

"In the middle of fifty or sixty words, Myrtle made a love affair with the scholar, and confessed to the scholar that he was a heartless spirit, and the scholar said, 'For the rest of your life, you will enter my arms, and I will be your heart'."

Xin Wei felt more and more strange about His Royal Highness, and he couldn't remember the books he had read.

In the end, the scholar chose to ascend the throne and marry someone else, which was like a myrtle's heart being poached. was abandoned and let down, and was sad to death. ”

Li Fengming nodded, turned to what Xin Wei said, and carefully looked at the part of the love under the moon.

At the moment when the scholar said, "For the rest of your life, you will enter my arms, I am your heart", it is by no means hypocritical.

That's why Myrtle's soul throbbed, and that person became her heart from then on.

At that time, the scholar did not know that his background was bizarre, let alone that he would have such a ridiculous encounter later.

But Myrtle has spied on the heavenly opportunity with thousands of years of cultivation. She knew everything, but she wanted to gamble on luck.

Li Fengming closed the page of the book, looked up at the winter sun, and finally returned to calm after floating all night.

She decided that the next time the opportunity arose, she would have to run.

However, it is necessary to be more cautious and thoughtful when planning ahead.

"When the moon was decided, myrtle chose the wrong one. Being sincere at the moment of making a promise does not mean that this person will not change. Li Fengming sighed with a smile.

"If you practice for a thousand years, you only have one life, so why bother."

Emperor Qi asked Xiao Mingche to secretly investigate the assassination of the prince, Xiao Mingche was busy for two days, completed the docking with Jin Wuwei, and made arrangements on the surface, so as to make time to sort out the situation in depth.

Now that Zhan Kaiyang has gradually become effective, Cen Jiashu and other think tanks are not vegetarians, Xiao Mingche is no longer fighting alone, and he is more than comfortable compared with before.

So Li Fengming didn't plan to take care of this matter.

But Xiao Mingche is stubborn, he has to take her with him wherever he goes every day, and he doesn't shy away from her in everything, which means that she has to take care of it.

The habits she has developed since childhood have not been completely lost, and after hearing some things in her ears, she can't help but ponder, and when she thinks about what is wrong, she can't help but want to say a few words.

So in the end, Xiao Mingche's wish was fulfilled, and he followed him to face a group of staff members and retainers in the council room.

Li Fengming opened his mouth and cleared all the fog, pointing directly to the core, "The crown prince was assassinated, King Heng is the most suspicious, and His Majesty must know this matter in his heart." But he didn't plan to really let King Heng hurt his muscles and bones, otherwise this matter should be handed over to Donggong to investigate by himself. ”

"If you don't let the East Palace check by yourself, could it be that Your Majesty intends to let the East Palace avoid suspicion?" Zhan Kaiyang asked.

In fact, if you don't fight Kaiyang alone, most of the ministers in the Huai Wangfu hold this view.

After all, now the East Palace and the Hengwang Mansion are incompatible, and everyone knows it.

If the East Palace investigates this assassination case by itself, and finally finds out the head of King Heng, it is easy to suspect that this is the prince using bitter meat to attack King Heng.

With Emperor Qi's love for the crown prince, in order to protect the reputation of the East Palace, it makes sense for him to avoid suspicion and not get involved in this case.

But Li Fengming had a different opinion: "Then why don't you hand it over to Jingzhao Mansion or the internal guard to investigate?" If you are not at ease, Dali Temple is not a decoration. In terms of experience and ability to handle cases, can Huaiwangfu be stronger than Jingzhao Mansion, Neiwei, and Dali Temple? ”

"What the princess said is very true," Cen Jiashu's train of thought coincided with her, "The minister thinks that His Majesty ordered His Royal Highness to investigate this matter secretly, and the real intention is not to know 'who is behind the assassination of the crown prince'." ”

But what Emperor Qi really wanted to investigate, he didn't say it clearly, and ordinary people really couldn't guess it.

That's why we need to brainstorm and peel off the cocoon, so as not to let Xiao Ming thoroughly check the wrong direction, and finally get burned in the thankless way.

Li Fengming tapped the table with his knuckles, "According to you, what did the prince do before that forced King Heng to be anxious?" ”

"In late October, more than a dozen mansions in Beijing were burglarized one after another, and after Jingzhao Mansion received a report, a snitch gang was arrested."

Zhan Kaiyang got up and walked over and put a file in front of Li Fengming.

"Originally, it was just a theft case according to the usual procedures, but I accidentally learned from the snitches that on the fifth day of the fifth month of May, there was an opportunity for the nobles of the court to sell Xia Wang's answer in front of the temple through the chanting of Tantuo Temple."

This matter had a great impact, and Jingzhao Mansion did not dare to act rashly, and immediately went to heaven to listen.

Xia Wang's fraud in taking scholars is undoubtedly a huge injustice to most of the scholars who have studied hard for more than ten years.

There is no such thing as an impermeable wall.

Ten days later, scholars from all over the world, and even highly respected learned Confucians, rushed to Yongjing, pleaded with Emperor Qi through various channels, and strongly demanded a thorough investigation.

So Emperor Qi handed over the case to the crown prince.

Li Fengming frowned and looked at the file, "What did the prince find?" ”

The fifth day of the fifth month of May. Tantuo Temple. Concert.

She clearly remembered that that day she went to the concert with Wenyin to watch the excitement, and met Xiao Mingche, Lian Zhen and Fujun Wang and his wife.

At that time, there was indeed an opportunity for a mysterious person to sell the "Imperial Answer", and I was saddened by it afterwards.

Xiao Mingche coughed dryly twice, and said in a deep voice, "I found out that at that concert, a master from Hengwang Mansion and me were all there." ”

Li Fengming turned his head sharply when he heard this, and looked at him in surprise.

Everyone was dismissed, and only Li Fengming and Xiao Mingche were left in the meeting room.

Li Fengming leaned lazily on the back of the chair, lowering his eyes and fiddling with his coated nails, as if smiling.

Even if it was found that Xiao Mingche had appeared at that concert, Emperor Qi would never suspect that he was the mysterious person who cheated and sold the opportunity to answer questions in front of the palace.

Because Xia Wang's scholars were co-ordinated by the Ministry of Officials and the University Academy, the prince led the princes to supervise the whole process.

The Ministry of Officials is the prince's sphere of influence, and the University Academy is mainly controlled by King Heng, so it is impossible for Xiao Mingche to intervene in the step of "answering questions in front of the emperor".

At present, Emperor Qi handed over the assassination of the prince to Xiao Mingche, which means that Emperor Qi has a brain and does not suspect Xiao Mingche.

Li Fengming didn't worry about this at all, what she wanted to know most was "How did you explain it to your father?" ”

In the silence of the council room, her voice seemed faint, and slowly fell to the ground, echoing.

Xiao Mingche tried his best to be innocent, staring at her, but obviously a little nervous.

It's like a naughty boy who once broke a vase, but never noticed it, and finally couldn't help but be harsh on his conscience after a long time, and took the initiative to confess to his family.

"That day, I spent a lot of money to buy a pearl, remember?"

Regarding the concert in Tantuo Temple, Xiao Mingche plucked up a lot of courage to confess today.

He thought that it would be better for Li Fengming to know the truth from his mouth than to never know who would know it in the future.

"I see." Li Fengming nodded with a smile, his arms folded in front of him, and his gaze fell on the file casually.

"King Heng cheated in the selection of scholars, and you knew the clues. On the fifth day of the fifth month of May, it was actually a singing party that followed the master of Hengwangfu? ”

Xiao Mingche clenched his fist to his lips and coughed lightly twice uncomfortably. "Hmm."

"Jingzhao Mansion found out from the snitch that someone at the concert was selling the opportunity to answer in front of the palace, and this matter is also your handiwork?"

Li Fengming still looked at the file, although it was a question, he already had an answer in his heart.

"Hmm." Xiao Mingche made another single note.

"Buying pearls at a sky-high price is also deliberate." Li Fengming lightly hooked his lips.

Xiao Mingtou glanced at her, "The original plan was for Xiao Mingxun to buy an item for his wife at a high price. ”

"King Fukushi?" Li Fengming bowed, "Later, when you saw the pearls, you found that they were the ones you gave me earlier, so it was temporarily changed to you to be in the limelight." ”

She should have thought that Xiao Mingche was only sometimes clear-minded, but not dull.

He can rely on his own strength, from a county king who is not loved by Emperor Qi, has no backing to rely on, and is suppressed and despised, to leap to the prince without revealing the mountains and waters, what kind of thing can this be?

There aren't that many coincidences in the world.

On the fifth day of the fifth month of May, he happened to go to the concert, and he happened to buy a bunch of pearls at a sky-high price, which was impressive.

It just happened that after more than half a year, it broke out in Beijing that "Xia Wangzhushi is suspected of cheating", which can perfectly explain why he appeared there that day-

For the joy of Bo's wife, he spent a lot of money.

As long as this one sentence is explained, simple, clear, and reasonable, His Royal Highness King Huai can easily remove himself from the suspicion of Xia Wang's fraud case.

"You have been laying out for so long, and you can still take all the details through at the beginning," Li Fengming clenched his fists and arched his hands, "Awesome, admire." ”

She was also blinded by lard, and she really believed that this guy was a poor little who was barely able to protect himself.

Xiao Mingche has shortcomings and shortcomings, but he also has his own city government and rules. Whether or not Li Fengming appears has little impact on him, at most, sometimes the method is stupid, the cost is greater, and he takes a few more detours, and that's it.

From this point of view, the symbiotic covenant between the two, what she can give back to Xiao Mingche, is far less weighty than she thought before.

He didn't need her that much at all.

After all the calculations, Xiao Mingche still suffers a loss.

Li Fengming clenched his fists and put them on the edge of the table, laughing self-deprecatingly and shaking his head, "It's good that you didn't really want to calculate me, otherwise I'm afraid I would have run out of bones a long time ago." ”

Xiao Mingche hurriedly held her hand, and covered her fist in the palm of his hand with his big palm. "Don't be foolish, what do I calculate you do? At first, it was just in case, so I didn't say much. ”

If the case of "Xia Wang's fraud" fails to make waves in the end, it will be in vain, and it will be in vain to say in advance that he and Li Fengming will not be able to make jokes.

He also wants to save face.

Li Fengming looked at him with a smile and said pertinently, "It's not wrong for you not to tell me in advance." ”

At that time, the two of them hadn't settled together, and the relationship was weird, so there was no need to talk about it.

If she gets too deeply involved in the battle between the emperors and heirs of the Qi Kingdom, it will not be a good thing for herself.

Now this is appropriate.

Xiao Mingche grabbed her expression tightly, for fear of missing a slight, "Although the pearl is a part of this game, it was really bought for you." ”

"I believe it." Li Fengming's smile remained unchanged and looked back at him calmly.

Xiao Mingche was very uneasy about her calmness, "Xiao Mingxun told me that if you know the true origin of the pearl, you will definitely be disappointed and angry." ”

The gift that her husband gave her was actually bought because she wanted to achieve a certain purpose.

On top of that, the wife didn't know about it beforehand. When the truth is revealed, there will be a little bit of loss and embarrassment.

No wife would be happy when she learned the truth afterwards.

This is Xiao Mingxun's personal experience.

But Li Fengming is not the princess of Fujun.

When she received the pearl that "she sold at a low price and was bought back by Xiao Mingche at a sky-high price", she almost ran out of gas.

I never had the joy of being "favored by my husband".

Without that joy, I would not be embarrassed to learn the truth now.

"Well, it's not a big deal, I'm really not angry." She leaned over with a smile and pecked Xiao Mingche on the lips.

"Thank you for thinking of me when you were doing business."

See, those who have no heart will not be sad.

Therefore, whether it is a person or a demon, you should remember a truth, and don't fall into it.

When the two are happy, indulge but do not have a heart-to-heart. In this way, even if you are abandoned and let down in the end, you will not be sad to death.

Not to mention like Myrtle, the poor soul is scattered.

。